Greek town becomes flash point in war against Muslim immigrants

[Casino67]

Washington Post:

Thursday, November 11, 2010; 8:53 PM

NEA VISSA, GREECE - This little farming town on the edge of Europe, where the crosses of Greek Orthodox churches face Turkey's minarets scarcely a mile away, has become the latest battleground in the continent's war against a flood of unwanted immigrants from the strife-torn Muslim world.

The European Union's joint border patrol force, Frontex, dispatched armed international guards last week to reinforce Greek patrols around Nea Vissa, seeking to seal an eight-mile stretch of frontier that has become the main corridor for illegal entry into Europe for thousands of fortune-seeking Afghans, Iraqis, Iranians, Pakistanis and North Africans. The 200-member pan-European deployment marked the first such Frontex operation along the borders of one of the European Union's 27 member nations. Greek officials called it a belated recognition that the onrush of immigrants here is a problem that must be dealt with by all of Europe.

The French immigration minister, Eric Besson, said the posting of French and other foreign border guards should be seen as a sign of determination by Europe to stanch the flow. "France is totally mobilized to struggle with Greece against the networks that exploit immigrants in defiance of the most basic humanitarian laws," he said on a quick visit to the border.

The growing presence of immigrants, particularly Muslims who bring with them their own customs and religious practices, has become one of the main irritants in Western European societies. Immigration has become a prominent and sometimes sour part of the political debate even in countries with long liberal traditions, including Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and France.


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Change a few words and this article could have been written about our southern border.